Safety razor



y 1934- H. B. PEARSON 1,960,680

SAFETY RAZOR Filed Feb. 6, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l HAROLD BARTON PEARSON INVENTOR a mo hw w ATTORNEYS May 29, 1934. H. B. PEARSON SAFETY RAZOR Filed Feb. 6, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HAROLD BARTON PEARLSON INVENTOR MWZZMZ ATTORNEYS Patented May 29, 1934 STATES assignor to Bells Razor Limited, London,

England, a British company Application February 6, 1934, Serial No. 709,915

10 Claims.

This invention relates to safety razors, the chief object being to provide an improved construction of safety razor of which the blade can be stropped or honed without necessarily removing it from the razor or handle frame in which it is fixed for shaving.

According to this invention the blade is affixed, permanently or removably, to a carrier which is rotatably mounted on a spindle supported in side members of the handle frame and a rotatable roller is also mounted on the said spindle, which latter is capable of longitudinal sliding movement so that when moved into one posit-ion the blade carrier can, by means of suitable gearing, be angularly moved in a direction reverse to that of the roller so as to follow or trail behind the roller when the latter is moved along a stropping sur face, whilst in another position of the said spindle the blade carrier can be angularly moved forwardly, that is, in the direction of rotation of the roller as desired for honing when the blade edge can precede the movement of the roller along the honing surface.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, the same Will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a front view of one form of the i. proved razor.

Figures 2 and 3 are side views.

Figures 4 and 5 are front sectional views illustrating the razor set for stropping and honing respectively.

Figures 6 and '7 are views of the aforesaid spindle.

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are respectively a front View and end views of the aforesaid roller.

Figures 11 and 12 are front and end views of the blade carrier.

Figures 13 and 14 are diagrams showing how the razor is used for stropping and honing respectively.

In the example illustrated the razor comprises a handle A which at its upper end is bifurcated or formed to constitute a forked frame having two side members B and C the outer ends of which are formed with holes to receive a detachable spindle D. Upon this spindle is rotatably mounted a roller E preferably constituted by a steel sleeve with a liner through which the spindle D passes, although the roller may be in one solid piece and centrally bored to receive the spindle.

The razor blade F is mounted in or may be attached to a carrier G having lugs G and G which are formed with holes to receive the aforesaid spindle, the said roller E fitting closely between the lugs G and G In the example shown, the blade is held in a rigid or fixed position for shaving by means of a plate H which may be formed with prongs or clips H to engage the side edges of the blade and which mayalso be formed with an aperture or with comb-like projections to constitute a safety guard, the said guard plate being pivotally mounted in the lower part of the frame members B and C so that it can be moved from the operative position in which it holds the blade in the shaving position into an inoperative position for the purpose of allowing the blade to move as required when honing and stropping as hereinafter described. A spring H acts on the rear edge of the guard plate 79 H and serves to retain the plate in either the operative position or the inoperative position. In the example shown, the mechanism for enabling the blade to be moved as required for honing and stropping is mainly contained within the aforesaid roller. The said mechanism may comprise a bevel gear wheel I (see Figure i) fixed or provided on one end of the liner within the roller E in any appropriate manner. A pair of bevel pinions J mounted on a pin J mesh with the bevel 80 Wheel I and in order to enable the pin J 1 carrying the bevel pinions to be placed in position, one end of the spindle D is slotted as shown at D to receive the pin which may be flattened where it fits in the slot in the spindle. The bevel pinions J are also in mesh with a bevel wheel K which may be fixed on or formed integrally with the lug G of the blade carrier G. The said spindle D can be slidably moved to occupy either of two longitudinal positions and it is formed at its other end with a key or projection D which is normally situated within an end opening in the said roller and which when the spindle is moved in one direction is adapted to engage with one of two keyways G in the aforesaid lug G of the blade carrier G in order to lock the carrier to the spindle when required. The slotted end D of the spindle D may engage with a fixed bar L on the frame member B so that the spindle in one of its longitudinal positions engages with this bar and is thereby held against rotation. The other end of the spindle is formed to engage with re.- taining means that can hold the spindle in either of its longitudinal positions and for this purpose the spindle may be provided with annular grooves D D with either of which a spring retaining clip M held on the frame member C can engage to retain the spindle in position. The razor as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is in the shaving no condition with the blade F held rigid by the aforesaid plate H, which as aforesaid may constitute the guard. For the purpose of stropping, the guard is moved from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Figures 2 and 3, and the roller E is placed upon a flat stropping surface and moved along with it. In the stropping position the parts are in the relation shown in Figure 4, the spindle being retained by the clip M engaging the groove D so that it is held. against rotation by the bar L engaging the slotted end D of the spindle. Upon the initial movement of the roller E along the stropping surface, the roller is rotated and through the medium of the gear wheel I secured thereto, the pinions J and bevel gear wheel K secured to the blade carrier, the latter is angularly moved by the rotative movement of the roller so as to cause the blade to assume a position at the rear of the roller as the latter is moved forwardly along the strop (see Figure 13). At the end of this forward stroke or movement, the razor is moved in the opposite direction and during the initial movement the roller is rotated or angularly moved by its contact with the strop so that the blade carrier is angularly moved through the gearing as aforesaid in order to cause the blade to trail behind the roller E during the rearward stroke, this angular movement or reversal of the blade at the ends of the strokes continuing during the reciprocation necessary for the stropping of the blade. When it is desired to hone the blade, the spindle is pushed to the right into the position shown in Figure 5 where it is retained by the aforesaid spring clip M engaging with the groove D in the spindle. In this position the key or projection D on the spindle engages with one of the keyways G in the lug G of the blade carrier G. As a result of this movement of the spindle, the slotted end D is withdrawn from engagement with the bar L on the frame member 13, so that reason of the key D engaging the lug G so as the spindle in this position is free to rotate and on being rotated by the initial or reverse movement of the roller E bearing on the honing surface, it angularly moves the blade carrier by to place the blade in advance of the roller as required for honing as shown in Figure 14. At the end of the forward movement or stroke the razor is moved in the opposite direction with the result that the roller E is rotated and consequently rotates the spindle in order to move the blade angularly to place it in advance of the roller during the rearward stroke, this reversing action taking place at the end of each stroke during the reciprocation of the razor on the honing surface. The guard plate may be so formed that when it is in the open or inoperative position the blade can engage therewith without likelihood of the edge being damaged and lifting or raising of the guard plate enables the blade to ride over the latter in order to assume the shaving position in proper relation to the guard. Instead of providing a guard plate as aforesaid, a guard extending along the edge and sides of the blade may be used and this may assume a position on either side of the blade edge during stropping or honing of the blade. The blade which is used is preferably hollow ground but any suitable blade. including thin or wafer blades, may be used and the carrier may be formed to suit the blade that is used. In some instances the blade may be detachable from the carrier so that it can be replaced by another if required. Any suitable strop or hone may be used and in one example a flat strip having a stropping surface on one side and a honing surface on the other may be provided. A strip having stropping and honing surfaces as aforesaid may be provided in a box containing the razor and the box lid or other part may be so formed that the strip can be fitted therein to expose one surface for stropping, whilst it can be readily reversed to expose the other surface for honing.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

l. A safety razor adapted for stropping and honing comprising a frame or holder, a spindle slidably and rotatably mounted in said frame, a rotatable roller on said spindle, a blade carrier rotatably mounted on said spindle, gearing whereby rotative movement of the roller can be imparted to the blade carrier to obtain a turning action of the latter reverse to that of the roller when the spindle is in one longitudinal position, and means whereby in another longitudinal position of the spindle the blade carrier can partake of a turning action in the same direction as the roller.

2. A safety razor adapted for stropping and honing, comprising the combination with a forked handle frame of a spindle mounted in the forked members thereof to extend across and between them and capable of sliding movement therein, a blade carrier pivoted on said spindle to extend 1'05 radially therefrom, a roller mounted on the spindle and means whereby the roller and the blade carrier can be geared together in one longitudinal position of the spindle to obtain a turning action of the carrier reverse to that of the roller and whereby the spindle and the blade carrier may be locked in rotative engagement to obtain a turning action of the blade carrier in the same direction as the roller.

3. A safety razor adapted for stropping and 115 honing comprising a frame, a spindle which is rotatable and longitudinally slidable in said frame, a roller rotatable on said spindle, a blade carrier rotatably mounted on said spindle, a gear wheel on said roller, another gear wheel on the said carrier, at least one pinion in mesh with and operatively connecting said gear wheels, a key on said spindle adapted to engage with a keyway in the blade carrier when the spindle is slidably moved in one direction, means for holding the spindle against rotation when the said key is not in engagement with thekeyway, means whereby the spindle can be slidably moved and released from the said holding means to cause the said key to enter the keyway and means to retain the spindle in either of the two longitudinal positions.

4. A safety razor as in claim 3 in which the said gearing is contained within the roller.

5. A safety razor as in claim 3 in which a safety 135 guard is associated with the blade on the blade carrier.

6. A safety razor as in claim 3 in which a plate is mounted in the handle and is adapted to hold the blade in the shaving position whilst also form- 140 ing a safety guard, whilst it can also be moved to allow the blade to be moved by the roller for stropping and honing purposes.

7. A safety razor adapted for stropping and honing comprising a frame, a spindle which is 145 rotatable and longitudinally slidable in said frame, a roller rotatably mounted on said spindle,

a blade carrier also rotatably mounted on said spindle, oppositely disposed bevel gear wheels on said roller and on said blade carrier, bevel pinions 150 ioo meshing with said oppositely disposed gear wheels and carried by a pin passing through a slotted end of the said spindle, a member on said frame to engage the slotted end of the spindle to hold the latter against rotation, a key on said spindle adapted to engage with a keyway in the blade carrier when the spindle is slidably moved to disengage its slotted end from said holding member, and means to engage the spindle to retain it in either of its longitudinal positions.

8. In a safety razor according to claim 3, means for holding the spindle in either of its longitudinal positions comprising a spring clip mounted on the frame and adapted to engage with either of two annular grooves formed side by side in the said spindle.

9. A safety razor according to claim 3, in which the blade carrier is formed by a clip to receive the butt edge of the razor blade and with lugs extending in parallel planes and each'adapted to receive the spindle, one of the said lugs having a bevel gear wheel formed or provided on its inner surface, the other lug having a keyway to be engaged by the key on the spindle.

10. In a safety razor according to claim 3, a curved guard plate pivoted in the handle and adapted to be turned upwardly and to engage with the blade to position the latter for shaving purposes and to be turned downwardly to release the blade so that it can be moved for stropping and honing purposes, the said plate being so shaped or curved to permit of the edge of the blade riding over it.

HAROLD BARTON PEARSON. 

